ABY Blog Awards 2015

This year has been a great year in terms of Cameroonian talent breaking the norm and getting international recognition. I’m not saying it validates them but I’m saying you know you’re doing something right when you transcend into and are accepted by different cultures. There was no official voting system (this year) but I asked a few Cameroonian bloggers and notables I know and they all sent in their top choices!

The categories were:

Best Cameroonian makeup artist

Best Cameroonian blogger

Best Cameroonian businessman

Best Cameroonian businesswoman

Cameroonian to look out for in 2016

Best Cameroonian artist Notable Cameroonian of the year (and why if you have the time!)

Most fashionable Cameroonian male

Most fashionable Cameroonian female

Most commendable Cameroonian artist

Best Cameroonian initiative of 2015

Best Cameroonian business

Best Cameroonian personality on social media

Best Cameroonian model

It’s important to get the public support but it’s equally gratifying to know that your peers and people in the business admire your work. Let’s see what they answered and find out who made the cut!

Here are my picks:

Best Cameroonian makeup artist – Bihyouty. She was one of the first few ti start a consciousness about the art of makeup in Cameroon and for that I am proud.

Best Cameroonian blogger – There are so many. I love how dedicated The Hot Jem blog and I Rep Camer are to making Cameroon trend. But I love a talented writer so I’ll go with Find Palaver Woman and Bakwa Magazine.

Best Cameroonian businessman – Penjo Baba for Penjo Photography / Videography because he delivers amazing photos and captures some of the best wedding moments. Plus he is very professional.

Best Cameroonian businesswoman – Anyi Assonganyi of OZI simply because she’s a moving train. Her resilience is contagious!

Cameroonian to look out for in 2016 – Kibonen Nfi. Her Humans of New York feature got me so excited beyond words!

Best Cameroonian artist – JOVI Le Monstre. His lyrical game is too strong.

Notable Cameroonian of the year – Franko for coming up with the most catchy tune (Coller la petite) of 2015 that went viral.

Best Cameroonian personality on social media – Ebangha Njang. Our social media posts are supposed to ignite a reaction or influence people to think. And she’s doing just that and using it to make difference.

My panel:

Best Cameroonian makeup artist: Anyi Asonganyi. There is another fabulous Cameroonian MUA whose work I also love but Anyi wins hands down due to her business savviness.To me that’s woman power.

Best Cameroonian blogger- This is a hard one. Art Becomes You due to its picture quality, persistence and passion for fashion and I’ve been secretly following ABY since 2011 before most Cameroonians did!

Best Cameroonian businesswoman –Viola LLewellyn (CEO of Ovamba) as she took the bold step of moving her financial business from the UK to Cameroon and is passionate about supporting African Economies via Ovamba.

Cameroonian to look out for in 2016 – Kibonen Nfi. She is talented designer and has been blessed to get major exposure which I’m sure will allow her to reach the sky!

Notable Cameroonian of the year – Samuel Eto’o as he recently gave 100 scholarships to Ahmadiyya School girls and is one of the few very successful Cameroonian athletes known to help other causes both in and outside of Cameroon.

Most fashionable Cameroonian male –Dan Mofor of Don Morphy(a clothing and shoe line)! Have you seen his dressing? OMG to die for!

Best Cameroonian initiative of 2015 –Gifted Mom which uses app technology to provide health solutions which will impact 5 million users across Africa and was endorsed by Queen Elizabeth.

Best Cameroonian business –Gifted Mom (www.giftedmom.org) for the same reason why its the best Cameroonian initiative.

Best Cameroonian personality on social media – Can I nominate myself LOL? If not then I would say Stanley Enow because not only is he an artist but he knows how to use Social Media like most Cameroonian entertainers cant to mingle with his fans and he is known for his great personality and interaction with people on social media (charismatic).

Best Cameroonian model –Kathy Mingele because not only is she amazing as a model but she makes the best out of her look and and owns it with no apology!

Best Cameroonian business – Circa 237.They organize almost all the elite crowd events; from artists to brunches, to product launches concerning everything. They have sponsors from Heineken to Martini to Moët.

Best Cameroonian model – Efatel. She’s a huge Camer model who was awarded Best Model of the year in France and in Cameroon. She was even invited to Talents d’Aftique on Canal + Horizon to talk about her modeling career.

Best Cameroonian Artist 2015 (only) – This is a really hard one because there are so many good artists but I will say Franko because of Coller La petite.

Most fashionable Cameroonian male – Eto’o ( course of course he is rich) but normal celeb status I will say Numerica. He always slays.

Numerica

Most Fashionable Cameroonian Female – Actress Syndy Emade. She might not have designers but she puts everything together really well.

Notable Cameroonian of the year – Stanley Enow I know people think he is mean and proud etc but he is actually a very humble, kind and professional artist and person. Who is business oriented, driven and ambitious. Through his Stanley Enow Foundation, He also gives back and inspires others. He give gifts to a number of orphanages this Christmas and gave a handicapped lady who sells puff puff a brand new tricycle to help her in transportation. I admire his hardwork. He could also fit into the commendable Cameroonian artist category.

Another Commenable Cameroonian Artist is Locko. Don’t know much about him but I just like the guy. Talented, humble and ambition – best Cameroonian Initiative = Mookeh/ Kreef Campaign for MAMA 2015. (Don’t really know of many other initiatives. Most of those I can think of were ideas which were never initiated).

Whoa! Thanks to everyone who nominated my blog! I can only promise to do better next year. This was such a diverse post and I have learnt about so many new Cameroonian talented people. I hope you loved my unofficial Blog Awards. Maybe next year we can actually nominate and vote for winners! Working on it…

Did your favourites feature on anyone’s list? Who would you have picked? Spill below.

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Fashion & Lifestyle blog curated by Lydia Epangue. I hope my blog reaches people who share my obsession with all things fashionable and who dare to dream just like me! Subscribe to receive updates on more brilliant posts!

8 Comments

Barbz

Awww Lydia, thanks for putting me amongst some of these bad ass panel members and people I actually look up to. I love how diverse our nominations are (great minds). And I have learned so much from every single panel member’s nominations (which I love). Congratulations to all the nominees. Can’t wait to see what 2016 brings. Happy New Year everyone. xxx

G

Lydia this is such an amazing post!! Sorry I’m late but better late than never. Thank you for reaching out to me to be included with all these talented blogging peers! I have also discovered some new faces, names and businesses. Thank you for also mentioning that “The HotJem” tries to make Cameroon trendy because I believe that charity begins at home. It’s amazing to read other people’s responses! Although I listed one name per category there are so many talents and people that could have made the lists in my mind! Can’t wait to see what 2016 has in store for ABY!! xoxo

About moi

Lydia Epangue

A lifestyle & fashion influencer based in Birmingham, United Kingdom with a knack for stripes, bold colours and shoes. Has a Master's Degree in Contemporary Media. When she's not blogging, she works as a Digital Development Executive.